REAL TALK with JIM CHAPMAN

Jim Chapman has a brilliant and original mind. Having graduated with a degree in psychology, he soon found himself stifled by the predictability of life in corporate and the long-term promise of reward in exchange for repetition was not Jim's bag. Being creative he needed an outlet and that was filming and editing videos at the wekend. At first this was simply for his own amusement, but lefore long, his fun, affable style garnered him great popularity via YouTube, a growing platform at the time. Fast forward a few years, and Jim is now a well-established creator, vlogger, writer and doyenne of male fashion with several million followers. 

MF: What is your day to day like?
JC: It really varies, which is the beauty of my job. I'm obviously preoccupied with a lot of DIY at the moment and have been for several months while doing this home reno. But I can be sat at my desk writing or I could be in London at a glamorous event and that variety really is the spice of life. Some days I wake up and I actually don't know what I have to do that day, but I love it, as it keeps me energised, excited for opportunities and I believe it makes me age slower. If we repeat the same processes everyday, nothing about it is novel or memorable and years can really fly by. One thing I would say about my job is I have to be really motivated and am constantly curious about new opportunities, to renovate a house, travel or whatever it may be.

MF: What would you like to do more of?
JC: I'm looking for a bit of a career shift. Social media isn't what it used to be when I started 16 years ago, with YouTube initially. It felt like it was much more of a community back then and people really cared. I have had people meet in my comments section and get married, it was a joyful place. Now practically every other person out there is an influencer, meaning the audience now seems to defer to the loudest personalities, versus the integrity and the innocence of it all when it first began. I love doing it, but I want to work more on my writing, my drawing and do more tv. I don't just want to be an internet profile. 

MF: Is there a message you try to bring through in everything you do?
JC: I believe that I am responsible to the folks I communicate with. I like to portray a realistic element of joy in everything I do, but I don't shirk from reality and the fact that life isn't all rainbows and roses. Being a person is wicked - we're so lucky to be alive and I like to portray gratitude for that.

MF: How does movement and exercise help you mentally and physically?
JC: it's so important! I haven't been to the gym for a while due to the reno. I see it and feel it in my body. I'm slim and 6ft 3" tall, so my stature tends to melt and I fold forwards unless I train. It makes me feel strong and I feel euphoria from having lifted weights or boxed and had a massive sweat etc. When I exercise and I am locked in - I feel better, I look better, my diet gets better, I work better, I am kinder to myself, I am a better person to be around and everything shines through from training. So it is integral to me mentally as well as physically - it's a non-negotiable for me. 

REAL thought: Do more for yourself - so that you can be more for others.

MF: How do you cope with hard things?
JC: Exercise really helps. But look, I'm not a victim - shit happens to everybody, all the time and just knowing that helps contextualise bad stuff. I didn't love my childhood, but nor did so many others and when I burst the water mains in this house, I just told myself what a privilege it is to be have a water mains to burst in the frsrt place! When hard things happen, I take a breath and ask myself about what good is coming, or if, in the grand scheme of things is any mishap enough to detract from everything that's good in my life. 

MF: Is there anything you could not live without?
JC: Shy of the people in my life, no. I am really easily pleased. Don't get me wrong, I love stuff like clothes and fancy things, but I didn't have them growing up and I won't have them when I leave this world, so for me it's just about enjoying every part of the adventure along the way. I'd love to provide a world for my children that I didn't have myself and that means time mainly, as well as stuff.

MF: What's your favourite time of year?
JC: Err, spring! The sun comes out, flowers grow, eveyting blooms and it's the time of new beginnings. 

MF: Is there anything you'd like to get off your chest?
JC: I am in a great place right now and I know it may be easy for me to say that from my ivory tower, but I think that being grateful for all I have and the fact my family are all healthy, happy etc, I am not wanting for anything else.

REAL thought: Gratitude for the smallest things can lead to contentment. If you simply judge your life to be either happy or not, chances are you're missing the small joys.